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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27739297">Mala fides</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/capricious__capricorn/pseuds/capricious__capricorn'>capricious__capricorn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Auror Harry Potter, Betrayed Harry Potter, Dark Harry Potter, Dark Magic, Deception, Do-Over, Emotional Manipulation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake Prophecy, Good Dark Side, Good Death Eaters, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Lily Evans Potter Lives, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Master of Death Harry Potter, Prophecy, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:13:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27739297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/capricious__capricorn/pseuds/capricious__capricorn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>'Mala fides': bad faith, purpose to deceive or defraud <br/>- Merriam Webster dictionary</p>
<p>For Harry Potter, the man-who-lived-twice, savior of the Wizarding World, and the ultimate golden boy, life was good. He had survived the war, had a job he loved, a good home, and wonderful friends; the future seemed bright.<br/>But when he's asked to assist on a case involving Unspeakables, what he discovers deep in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries turns his world upside down.</p>
<p>Betrayed and heartbroken, Harry does what he knows best; he jumps into the unknown like the good, little Gryffindor he is.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>“To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal.”<br/>― Malcolm X</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bartemius Crouch Jr./Fred Weasley/George Weasley, Fenrir Greyback/Remus Lupin, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter/Voldemort, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Sirius Black/Rodolphus Lestrange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>737</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Waiting for updates</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Veil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em>"He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there; all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil."</em>
</p><p>-Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix</p><p> </p><p>There was a knock and then the doors of his office opened before he even had the time to respond, making Harry frown at the intrusion.  </p><p>Though, as soon as he saw the person that entered, he knew he shouldn’t have bothered. The Head Unspeakable Jenkins was the most arrogant person Harry knew, making the likes of Malfoy seem like harmless kittens. </p><p>Jenkins was very good at his job, whatever the hell it was that he did down in the Department of Mysteries, and he had climbed up in the ranks very quickly once the war was over, to become the youngest head of a department beside Hermione, of course. Harry would have respected him for his hard work if it wasn’t for the man’s atrocious personality. </p><p>“Head Unspeakable Jenkins, what can I do for you?” he nevertheless said politely, after all, the man was an Unspeakable, and you didn’t want to get on their bad side. They learned some weird shit down in the bowels of the Ministry, the likes of which Harry didn’t want to know anything about. </p><p>“I need your assistance. There has been a development in the Death room, but I cannot disclose anything more here.” the man said, before turning around and starting to walk away, making Harry stare blankly after him.  </p><p>
  <em>Was he supposed to follow? </em>
</p><p>“Today, Auror Potter, if you please!” came from just outside of his office, making Harry grit his teeth as he stood up and made his way toward where the infuriating man was waiting impatiently for him.  </p><p> </p><p>They rode the elevator down to the basement where the Department of Mysteries was located, bypassing the witch that was standing guard at the doors and walking right in.  </p><p>Harry stopped in front of the doors leading to the Death Room, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of what was on the other side. He hadn’t been back in that room since his 5th year, the night that Sirius had fallen through the veil.  </p><p>It had been tempting when he started working in the Ministry, the thought that maybe Sirius was still alive and just stuck on the other side playing in his mind but he resisted. If that were the truth then Unspeakable would have already discovered the way to bring him back.  </p><p>Sirius was dead, along with so many others and no matter how much Harry wished he could do something, there was no undoing of death. </p><p>He took a big breath, shaking his head in an effort to clear it, since he had a job to do, one that he loved very much, before he finally stepped into the room, joining Jenkins at the center of the room. </p><p>The room looked the same, nothing had changed since the last time Harry had seen it, except now, it was filled with a dozen of Unspeakables. Harry frowned when he noticed the runes written in a circle around the Veil, unable to recognize any of them. </p><p>“What are those for?” he asked, pointing to the floor. </p><p>“We have devised a spell that would, in case it works, enable us to see beyond the Veil. The runes are there as protection, a shield if you may, in case something gets out. As it’s your presence, as the representative of the Auror Department.” </p><p>“Gets out?” Harry asked, his eyes widening.  </p><p>
  <em>Could it be...? </em>
</p><p>“You mean a person? Or persons?” he murmured, unable to prevent a spark of hope from bursting in his chest at the thought of seeing Sirius again. </p><p>“No. Inferi or a version of them, at least. There is no life beyond the Veil, Auror Potter. What is dead is dead.” </p><p>Harry deflated, staring morosely at the ground as he thought about Jenkins’s words.  </p><p>“Wand at the ready, Auror Potter.” Jenkins said before he stepped forward, a series of incantations in a language Harry had never heard before, spilling out of his mouth. The runes started glowing the longer Jenkins spoke, their light growing until Harry was almost blinded by it. </p><p>Then the incantations stopped, the runes glowing for a second longer before they faded, and a silence fell over the room. </p><p>Harry looked around, confused as he saw everyone staring at the Veil. </p><p>
  <em>Did it work? </em>
</p><p>He looked back to the Veil, unable to see anything except the shivery curtain, when it suddenly moved, a gust of wind blowing through it, and before Harry could do anything he was blown off his feet, his head connecting harshly with the stone wall, and then there was nothing but darkness. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Harry, wake up sweetheart, we don’t have much time.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Harry slowly came to his senses, his head pulsing and his vision blurry as he opened his eyes. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He blinked and then blinked again once he saw the person kneeling beside him. It wasn’t possible. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Mom?” he whispered, afraid to even speak the words, afraid that she would disappear. But she didn’t, instead, she smiled, one of her hands coming up to his cheek, her eyes going soft as she did so before they hardened. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Harry, we don’t have much time. I need to tell you something.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She stopped for a second, looking over her shoulder as if listening to something or someone, before she turned back, her face grim. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I have to go; I just need you to promise me something. Go to Gringotts, ask for the goblin named Bogrut. He will tell you everything you need to know. Promise me!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Harry nodded, even though he felt more confused than ever.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We have run out of time. I’m sorry honey, I have to go.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She bent down, leaving a soft kiss on his forehead before she whispered into his ear “Nothing is as it seems Harry.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Harry stood at the steps of Gringotts, debating if he should go in. It had been a week since he woke up in St. Mungos, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in the Department of Mysteries, his mother’s words still echoing through his mind. </p><p>At first, he thought that it had all been just a dream caused by his injury and a week-long induced coma, but as the days went by and he still couldn’t stop thinking, <em>what if</em>, he had finally decided to just go to Gringotts and check.  </p><p>He was sure that nothing would come of it, there probably wasn’t even a goblin by the name Bogrut there, but still, he needed to make sure. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time his dreams came true. </p><p>He nodded at the Wizards standing guard at the doors before walking in, still feeling a bit vary any time he had to visit Gringotts, even though he had long ago made peace with the Goblin Nation. Something that involved a lot of galleons and a Wizard’s oath to never attempt to steal from Gringotts again. </p><p>He walked to one of the tellers, thankful to find that it was not a busy day in the bank as it usually tended to be. </p><p>“Good morning. I was wondering if a goblin by the name of Bogrut works here?” he asked, feeling foolish even as the words left his mouth. </p><p>“Yes, he does. Would you like me to call for him, Auror Potter?” came the response, making Harry freeze on spot. He blinked owlishly at the goblin before numbly nodding his head, watching as the creature jumped from his seat and walked away to do his bidding, his mind screaming in confusion. </p><p>
  <em>It hadn’t been a dream. It had been real.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Merlin. </em>
</p><p>He thought as he was ushered into an office five minutes later, the oldest goblin he had ever seen sitting at the table and looking at him. </p><p>“Lord Potter, I was wondering when I would be seeing you. Although you look a bit old for an eleven-year-old.” </p><p>Harry frowned, staring at the goblin as if he was crazy.  </p><p>“That’s because I'm not; I’m 25.” </p><p>“Well, that would explain it.” Bogrut quipped, before riffling through a mountain of papers on his desk, only stopping once he located a small, flat box, the words EVANS written boldly at the top of it. </p><p>“Forgive me, I had been under impression that this is your first visit to our bank, seeing as you were supposed to receive this box as soon as you first stepped foot into Gringotts.” </p><p>Harry stared blankly; his eyes glued to the words written on the box. </p><p>Was he about to receive something that belonged to his mother? He frowned though, remembering the ominous words his mother had spoken, a warning, and something deep inside of his guts told him that whatever it was he would not like it one bit. </p><p>“I just need a drop of your blood right here.” Bogrut said, giving him a piece of blank paper and Harry did as was asked of him, murmuring a spell that would prick his finger, before he pressed it against the paper, smearing blood over it as he did so. </p><p>Bogrut nodded as the paper glowed blue, before taking the box and offering it to Harry. Harry took it, his hands shaking as he brought it close to his chest, hugging it to himself as if afraid it would disappear.  </p><p>“I’ll give you a moment.” Bogrut said, before walking out of the room slowly, a walking stick clutched in one of his hands. </p><p>Harry took a big breath before setting the box on the table and opening it, his hands shaking as he did so. Inside was a small, black notebook, and Harry took it, turning it around but unable to find anything written on the covers.  </p><p>He took out his wand, casting a slew of detection spells but when the results turned back empty, he set his wand aside and opened it his eyes going wide as he read the first entry. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Property of Lily Evans Snape. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Et tu, Brute?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Excuse my Latin, it's all google's fault!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“The worst pain in the world goes beyond the physical. Even further beyond any other emotional pain one can feel. It is the betrayal of a friend.” </em><br/>
― Heather Brewer, Ninth Grade Slays </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Oct 31, 1979 </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I got a feeling that I was being followed today. I don’t know if it’s all in my head or not, but something deep inside of me tells me that I’m right. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sev doesn’t know. I'm afraid to tell him, he would just worry. He worries too much especially since we found out about the baby. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m pregnant. Merlin, that had been a surprise. A baby in the middle of a war! The look on Sev’s face was priceless. I had never seen him so lost. He was practically speechless. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>For a second there, I had been worried that he wouldn’t want it, but then he laughed! I mean he actually laughed, jumping up and down and snatching me into his arms. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Merlin, how I love that man. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But ever since we found out, he had been pestering me about staying safe, not going out like a bloody mother hen; for God’s sake if it were up to him, I suspect, he would have me locked up in a padded room waited on day and night. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, I didn’t tell him about the feeling. It was probably just me being paranoid, most likely influenced by Sev’s own paranoia. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>* </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Jan. 01, 1980. </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sirius and James visited last night. Sev had rolled his eyes when I told him that they would be coming, but he had then proceeded to go to the kitchen and prepare dinner which told me that no matter how much he wished different, the two men had grown on him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The world must be coming to an end! Hah! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, they came and we had dinner, and the boys had even managed to sit through it without pulling a prank and getting hexed by Sev for it.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They were quieter though, especially Sirius, something was obviously bugging them. They didn’t tell me what though, but the absence of Remus was probably the cause.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They haven’t heard from him in some time and they were obviously worried. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>* </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Feb. 31, 1980. </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...." </em> </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Dumbledore had been to visit us today. Spoke of a prophecy that could possibly involve our baby. How he knew that I was pregnant in the first place was still a mystery, although I shouldn’t have been surprised. That man had eyes everywhere. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>As for the prophecy; a bunch of bollocks if you ask me. Divination! Please! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Though there was no convincing the old man, he seemed pretty set in his belief. He’s desperate to defeat the Dark Lord, and we, the little people are just pieces on his chessboard.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But not me, and certainly not my baby. I will not let him use my family in his games. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>* </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>May 28, 1980. </strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well, I’m living with three men at the moment. Three very overbearing and protective men. I’m not really sure how I’ve managed to last this long without cursing them to Surrey and back by now. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>After Dumbledore’s visit, somehow the damn prophecy had reached The Dark Lord’s ears. I wonder how?  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>That damn old man was putting my family at risk and he didn’t even care! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, Severus along with James and Sirius had come up with a plan for us to hide. And now, since almost no one except a few people knew that Sev and I were together let alone married, and I’m living with James, naturally, everyone thinks that the two of us are an item. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Merlin, Severus was not amused. It was a bit funny. Fine, a lot. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He had been enraged, but still, he did nothing to correct the rumors, another way for him to protect me. If someone was to discover where we were, they would never see Severus coming. After all, what would he be doing in James Potter’s home? Everyone knew they hated each other in school. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>* </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Aug 03, 1980 </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He is here! My beautiful baby boy Harry, and he is perfect.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sev cried. Yeah.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>* </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Oct. 30, 1980 </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He is coming. The Dark Lord is coming to our house. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Severus had gone and talked to him, the crazy man. I didn’t know if I should hug him or kill him once he came back.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I was already ready to end him before he explained everything.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Apparently, The Dark Lord himself was having his suspicions about the so-called prophecy but when we went into hiding, he started to believe it. Once Severus had gone and explained that it originated from Dumbledore, the Dark Lord had agreed to a peaceful meeting with us. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Merlin, help us. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But no matter what Severus says, I’m not going there unprepared. He is after all the Dark Lord, even if he isn’t the homicidal maniac Dumbledore would have people believe. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>There is this spell, a dark spell I found in one of Sev’s books that he thinks I don’t know he has. The book is ancient and I think it’s the only copy in the world. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The spell, should it work, brings the soul of a person who casts it back in time for a few hours, as a sort of astral projection and without the worry of making the person crazy if they saw themselves. It can be an hour, a month, or years. It's like time travel but better. If it works. If not, then I don’t even want to know what could happen. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I’m desperate, and if anything goes wrong, if Harry... God... I’ll do anything, no matter the cost. </em>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>“Reducam tempus obscurum, ad animam meam” </em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>* </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>We’ve been betrayed! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t know where I am, he’s keeping me hidden.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>My wand is gone, and the only reason why I still have my diary is because I had it in my pocket when I’ve been taken and the blood protection I had on it evades any wards and search spells. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everything was going well, The Dark Lord had come and we were talking, when there were suddenly the sounds of apparitions; dozens of them.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dumbledore and his cronies. He had found out about the meeting, and there was only one person that could have told him; Peter. He had been our secret keeper, and he had betrayed us. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>As soon as they arrived, all hell broke loose; curses and hexes flying all over the place. James fell first. Oh, dear God... James... </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then something hit Severus, he crumbled to the floor right in front of me and I could do nothing but watch. I couldn’t help him, I had to keep Harry safe.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I started to say the spell, feeling desperate as I watched the man I love lying on the floor, unmoving but I was too late. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The unthinkable happened. A stray curse from the Dark Lord’s wand flew toward us, intended for one of Dumbledore’s men who was coming for us, but the man ducked and the spell hit me. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I screamed as I fell to the ground, my wand cluttering and rolling away from me and the last thing I could remember is the Dark Lord screaming in agony before I lost consciousness. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I woke up here, in this place, wherever the hell I am, to see Dumbledore standing on the other side of the room. I was unable to move since he had me under some sort of spell, and that’s when I realized; this had been his plan all along. There had never been a prophecy, he had made it up in order to draw the Dark Lord out. And we had been stupid enough to fall for it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He told me that the Dark Lord was gone, vanished by his own spell rebounding, but I knew that wasn’t true, not that I told him. You see, the Dark Lord had sworn an oath on his life not to hurt us before he was allowed entrance into our home, and once that stray spell hit me, his life had been forfeited. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t know what happened to Severus and Sirius, but I fear the worst. I’m not even sure why I’m still alive, but I doubt I would stay so for long.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>At least, if Dumbledore is to be believed, Harry is still alive, thank Merlin. Although my heart breaks at the thought that I would never see him again. My beautiful baby boy, we had so little time together. Too little. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>This will be my last entry, and then I’ll send this diary to Gringotts to be delivered to Harry when the time is right. I had made a small rune that would enable me to do so without my wand. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Harry, my darling, your dad and I love you more than anything else in the world, never doubt that for a second.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lily. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Harry paced around his living room, not taking his eyes off the little, black book lying so inconspicuously on the table as if the contents of it hadn’t just blown Harry’s world apart. </p><p>At first, Harry had thought that it couldn’t be true, some kind of trick, but deep down he knew that it had been true. And once he cast a spell that would reveal to him the origin of the blood used in the blood wards that were cast on the diary, all his fears had been confirmed. </p><p>They’ve been duped. All of them, just a bunch of sheep, following the old man’s words like gospel, never once doubting him.  </p><p>But there was something that he couldn’t understand. If Sirius had known the real truth, then why did he follow Dumbledore ‘till the end? </p><p>And Snape... Merlin, his... no he couldn’t even think about that, less he would go crazy. His entire world was crashing around him and Harry wished he could just obliviate himself and forget about this whole thing. </p><p>He sat down, his head in his hands as he thought about everything he had found out. There was no way Sirius, and especially Snape, would just go on to work for Dumbledore after everything the man had done. </p><p>He must have done something to them. </p><p>He needed to do some research, Harry thought, and stood up, making his way upstairs to the Black’s family library. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Three days and countless hours of research later, Harry had found three possible answers. </p><p>Two spells that were very similar to Imperius curse, but much darker and definitely more effective and a potion that did pretty much the same, although that was a long shot seeing as Snape would know in a second if he had been offered something spiked unless he had been forced to consume it. </p><p>Harry was once again pacing his living room, staring at his mother’s diary as he thought about what he was about to do. </p><p>It was crazy, absolutely mental, and yet he knew he would do it. He was his mother’s son, after all, and just the thought of how many countless deaths he could prevent had been enough to make up his mind. </p><p>He sat down, bringing the open book closer to himself as he took a big breath, trying to calm his shaking hands. </p><p><em>You can do this</em>, he thought, as he took out his wand.  </p><p> <br/>
“Reducam tempus obscurum, ad animam meam.”, Harry whispered, moving his wand as he did so. Nothin happened for a second or two, and then he suddenly felt a tug in his chest, something similar to how it felt to travel by a portkey but more intense, before the feeling intensified, making him feel like someone was trying to carve out his chest. The pain started to spread, his whole body on fire, hot tendrils spreading from his chest and making him scream, and then there was nothing but darkness. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I had a bit of a problem with this chapter, I'm pretty crap at writing the diary format and I tend to avoid it, but it was needed for this story. I'm still not satisfied with it, but I would like to know what you thought about it.<br/>I would also love to hear what you think is going to happen next. Any theories?<br/>Read and review and have a nice day/evening!<br/>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Home, sweet home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“When you loved someone and had to let them go, there will always be that small part of yourself that whispers, "What was it that you wanted and why didn't you fight for it?” </em><br/>― Shannon L. Alder </p><p> </p><p>Harry groaned as he came back to himself, his head splitting open and his chest itching like crazy. He blinked, trying to clear the blurriness he saw every time he opened his eyes until he realized he didn’t have his glasses.  </p><p>He reached with his hand toward the bedside table on reflex, sighing in relief once he felt them there. But as soon as they were up on his nose and he could see clearly, he froze, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. </p><p>The memory of what he had been doing before he lost consciousness drifted through his mind and he groaned as he realized he did something wrong because he wasn’t just an astral projection and this wasn’t his mother’s house in the ’80s. He was in Private Drive, in Dudley’s old room that became his once he started Hogwarts. </p><p>He slowly stood up, looking around only to see that the room looked exactly the same as he had left it so long ago in the summer before what was supposed to be his 7th year if he had been able to attend. </p><p>His desk was still the same mess it used to be, his bed, the rickety old thing, still in the corner across from the old closet he had once hidden Dobby in. </p><p>And then he heard a sound he thought he would never hear again and jumped around to see Hedwig in her old cage looking at him curiously. </p><p>“How...?”, he murmured, walking toward his long-lost friend, a brilliant smile spreading over his face as he discovered that he could touch her. She was real. </p><p>Harry laughed, mumbling a spell to unlock the cage without thinking about it and then taking her into his arms, his head burring into her soft, white fur as he inhaled. </p><p>“Hello, darling. I missed you so much.”, he whispered as Hedwig chirped and softly pecked his nose, making Harry laugh. </p><p>“Fine, fine, I get it, you must be starving.”, he said before walking to the window and letting her go. After all, one small wandless, vanishing spell and the bars were no longer a problem. </p><p>He stood there for a while, watching her until she vanished into the night before he remembered that something had gone wrong and he shouldn’t be here, nor should Hedwig. He had just been so surprised when he saw his beloved pet that he couldn’t think about anything else. </p><p>He turned around, searching for his wand when he froze once he accidentally caught the sight of himself in the small mirror on his desk. </p><p>Harry slowly stepped forward, his hands shaking as he brought the mirror closer and he was sure that it would have dropped down and broken if he hadn’t been clutching it so tightly. </p><p>
  <em>He was... he was younger.  </em>
</p><p>If he had to guess thirteen or fourteen judging by the absence of facial hair he knew he had finally developed once he hit fifteen, and one quick wandless tempus confirmed it. </p><p>July 02, 1994, appeared in front of his eyes before vanishing. </p><p>
  <em>What in Merlin’s name was going on!? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>It took Harry three days and one very small, but still very intense mental breakdown to come to terms that he had somehow ended up back in his fourteen-year-old body. The spell hadn’t worked, or at least not as it was supposed to, since instead of bringing his soul back for a few minutes it brought it back completely and fourteen years too late. </p><p>His mother was dead, James as well, and his real father was currently in Hogwarts hating the very ground Harry walked. Well, that was a bit harsh, Snape hadn’t really hated him, but he didn’t really like him either. </p><p>On the bright side; Hedwig was still alive, as were Sirius, and Remus, and Fred, and Tonks and so many other people. And if Harry had anything to do with that, they will all remain so, no matter what he had to do. </p><p>There was also the question of Voldemort, and what to do about him. The man may have been okay when his mother was still alive, but at the present, he was pretty much a murdering lunatic that was going to come back at the end of Harry’s next year at Hogwarts.  </p><p>And that got Harry thinking; what had happened between the time his mother was still alive and now to make Voldemort so different? It couldn’t have been just the Horcruxes seeing as he had them back then and he was still acting normal-ish.  </p><p>He almost slapped himself once he thought better about it. It wasn’t just the Horcruxes, the man had been a wraith for more than a decade, and that coupled with his sliced soul was what made him go crazy.  </p><p>So, if one was to say, collect the Horcruxes and restore them into one soul again, the action may also restore Voldemort’s sanity. </p><p>Harry snorted as he imagined the look on Dumbledore’s face if he found out what Harry was considering.  </p><p>But he didn’t need to decide anything just yet. First, he needed supplies and a place to brew potions since he had a Godfather to find and disenchant and he couldn’t very well do that while looking like a fucking child. </p><p>Sirius was still out there, hiding out god knows where, on the run from the Ministry and the Dementors, trusting Dumbledore and all the while somewhere in his mind his true memories were locked. </p><p>That decided, Harry stood up, summoning his wand and invisibility cloak from the locked cabinet, all the while feeling grateful that he had become master of the wandless spells in his previous life, before throwing the cloak around himself and exiting the house, unnoticed by the Dursley’s or the woman he now knew was posted there to watch him from the minute Harry had been dropped on Dursley’s doorstep. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Harry sighed and dropped into a chair, feeling exhausted after spending the last week brewing potions. </p><p>He was nevertheless proud of himself as he watched the bottles stacked neatly on the kitchen table in front of him.  </p><p>After the war, Harry had realized that once he put his mind to it, he could be a decent brewer. At the time, he had thought that the absence of Snape standing over him and spouting vile remarks was the main reason for his improvement, but now, when he knew the truth, he realized that it was in his blood.  </p><p>And as always when he remembered the fact that Snape was actually his father, he started laughing mirthlessly. Merlin, his life was so fucked up. The man he had hated since his first potions class and then begrudgingly respected upon the man’s death was actually his father. </p><p>A father that had apparently loved him as soon as he saw him. Who had cried.  </p><p>
  <em>Severus Snape crying, the world has really gone round the bend. </em>
</p><p>Harry sighed once again, checking his watch to see that Sirius was late. He was supposed to be here half an hour ago, but there was no sign of him. </p><p>Instead of hunting him half-across the world, Harry had decided on sending him a letter. In the letter, he had asked him to come to Grimmauld house without explaining how he even knew about it. He had also enchanted the letter to not reveal the contents of it to anyone except Sirius even if the man himself offered it to someone to read. There was also a tongue-tying hex that would prevent Sirius from saying anything about Harry’s request to anyone, just in case, the man thought about going to Dumbledore for advice. </p><p>Harry stood up and walked toward the kitchen counters, intent on making himself a cup of tea, seeing as Kreacher was out shopping. It had been a surprise for Harry to realize he could access Grimmauld place even now. The house had been his home back in his previous life, but he didn’t expect it to still be in this one, at least not for a couple of more years. But after a few hours of research, he realized that as Sirius’s godson and seeing as Sirius didn’t have a child of his own, Harry was already considered his heir in the eyes of the law. Something no one had bothered to inform him about. </p><p>The situation with Kreacher and his questionable loyalty was quickly resolved with a bit of bogus chanting and switching of a certain locket for a fake one. After that, Kreacher quickly became the elf Harry knew from his past life, eager to help his young master however he could. </p><p>The real locket was however still whole and locked up in a box in Harry’s school trunk, soon to be joined by a few other soul parts. </p><p>“Expeliarmus.”, Harry murmured as a second thought as soon as he heard footsteps in the hallway outside of the kitchen, not even bothering to turn around.  </p><p>He knew it was just Sirius, the wards would have alerted him if there had been anyone else except his Godfather there. </p><p>“What are you playing at!?”, Sirius shouted but then suddenly froze in his steps as Harry finally turned around. </p><p>Harry looked older, 25 to be exact, after taking an aging potion, something he had brewed the first chance he got, unwilling to look fourteen for as long as he could manage. One puberty had been enough, thank you very much. </p><p>But except for his age, not much had changed. He was still Harry, although slightly taller, and Sirius could see that judging by his bulging eyes and wide-open mouth. </p><p>“Harry?”, the man whispered, looking at him as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, and Harry felt a tiny bit regretful at what he was about to do. Although not enough to rethink his actions; Sirius would thank him in the end. </p><p>“Stupefy!”, a look of betrayal flashed through Sirius’s eyes before he fell to the ground with a loud thump. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Sirius came around slowly, shaking his head as if to clear it before freezing in place as he realized that he couldn’t move. </p><p>His eyes snapped open, and he saw that he was sitting in a chair tied up in the middle of the kitchen, in the house he used to call his before his eyes snapped up once he heard movement. </p><p>“Who are you!?”, he growled at the young man who so resembled Harry, but he knew that couldn’t be true. Harry was a teenager and this man was all grown up. But their resemblance was so uncanny that Sirius had been caught off guard when he stepped into the kitchen, giving the man opportunity to bring him down. </p><p>“You know who I am, Sirius. You knew it as soon as you saw me, you just don’t want to believe it.” </p><p>Sirius shook his head, refusing to listen to the man’s words. </p><p>“Harry would never do this to me!”, he spat, as he once again tried to free himself from the magical bindings, but it was futile. Without his wand, he could do nothing. </p><p>“Believe me, having to do this hurts me more than you can imagine, but I had no other option. You would never believe what I had to say, or allow me to do what I have to so I had to restrain you.”, the man said, his green eyes shining as he looked at him. In spite of his words, the Harry look-alike smiled, his face joyful as if seeing Sirius was the best thing that had ever happened in his life and it made Sirius uncomfortable. </p><p>
  <em>Who was this man? </em>
</p><p>“I know that what I'm about to say is going to sound crazy, believe me, I know, but it’s the truth and the only thing I ask is that you listen to me. Just listen that’s all.” </p><p>He then proceeded to take one of the countless potion bottles that were stacked on the kitchen table, and Sirius’s eyes widened as he noticed the color. It was colorless. </p><p>“You know what this is, right?”, the man asked and once Sirius nodded, he dropped two drops of it on his tongue. Two drops instead of three, which would enable him to speak without having to be asked questions or being completely drugged, but still forced to tell the truth.  </p><p>And so the man launched into his story, as Sirius’s eyes steadily grew bigger, each new information like a blow into Sirius’s reality.  </p><p>His whole world was crashing down around him, his mind screaming for the man to stop talking, for everything to just stop. He didn’t want to listen anymore, he couldn’t, and yet he did. </p><p>It was Harry; this young man standing in front of him was his Godson, back from the future. He couldn’t deny it after watching the man taking the truth serum, even if every part of his mind and soul wished that he could. </p><p>“I suspect you have been enchanted by one of the two spells I had managed to find back in my first life. But I won’t know which one until I cast the counter-spells.” </p><p>Sirius nodded absentmindedly, his mind still going in circles at the thought that the last twelve years of his life had been a lie.  </p><p>“Will you let me do it?”, Harry asked after a few minutes. </p><p>“You’ll still do it even if I say no, right?”, Sirius asked and smirked as the boy smiled at him sheepishly.  </p><p>“Yeah, but I would prefer to have your permission.” </p><p>And so, Sirius nodded, sitting up straight as Harry stood up and took out his wand, preparing himself for what was to come. </p><p>And then Harry spoke the words, and suddenly, a pain Sirius had never in his life experienced pierced through his head, making him scream bloody murder before everything went black. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Is it weird that I cried a bit while writing the Hedwig part? Fine, I actually cried a lot.... Man, I miss that owl... <br/>Read and Review and have a nice day/evening! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Conversations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p><em>“Only those you trust can betray you.” </em><br/>― Terry Goodkind </p><p> </p><p>Harry sat in the chair next to the only window in Sirius’s room, as he waited for the man to wake up. Sirius was currently lying in his old bed, completely out cold, and Harry would be worried about him if the man hadn’t been snoring loudly enough to wake up the dead. </p><p>He must have been exhausted, Harry thought, all those months on the run from both the magical and muggle government, and all that after spending twelve years in Azkaban with Dementors as only company. </p><p>Harry was actually in awe of Sirius’s strength; to go through all that and still remain standing was extraordinary. </p><p>He would help him though; he already had the potions Sirius would need to recuperate both physically and mentally and this time around, he would get them all much earlier than in the previous timeline. </p><p>There was suddenly a loud groan coming from the man in question before he sat up in a flash, his eyes wide as he stared at Harry. </p><p>“I’m going to kill that bloody, old fool!”, he growled, trying to get out of bed but getting tangled up in the sheets and falling down in the process. </p><p>Harry snorted but stopped once Sirius glared at him before the glare turned into a look of horror. </p><p>“James... he...”, he whispered, staring at nothing as his eyes filled with tears. </p><p>Harry looked away, feeling as if he shouldn’t be there; like he had walked into something intimate. James had been like a brother to Sirius, and he couldn’t imagine what it felt like to mourn him two times in a row. Because that’s exactly what was now happening to Sirius. He could still remember the past twelve years, but he could now remember all the other things Dumbledore had taken from him, all the memories, and to him, it must have felt like no time had passed at all. </p><p>Harry eventually stood up, patting a hand over his Godfather’s shoulder before leaving him alone under the pretense of getting some tea, sensing that Sirius needed some time alone.  </p><p>He stayed in the kitchen for an hour, silently conversing with Kreacher, who was actually quite smart and funny, once you got over all the blood bigotry and general crankiness. </p><p>That’s how Sirius found the two of them, once he came into the kitchen. Harry noticed that he had showered, and changed his clothes, making him look marginally better than before. He still had a long road ahead of him, but at least all the grime was now gone. </p><p>“Be nice.”, Harry warned before Sirius even had the time to sit down, knowing without having to look up from his seat that the man was about to say something to piss Kreacher off and seeing as Harry really loathed cooking for himself, he couldn’t let that happen. And, he kind of liked the old elf. </p><p>“Fine.”, Sirius mumbled, glaring at the elf but remaining silent, sitting petulantly like a scolded child. Harry smiled, shaking his head, glad that his Godfather didn’t change much despite remembering. He was still Sirius; childish and ridiculous, and the biggest drama queen Harry had ever had the pleasure of knowing. </p><p>“So, what’s the plan?”, Sirius asked as he took a sip of his tea, hugging the cup tightly between his fingers. He still felt cold, Harry knew, the consequences of his prolonged stay in Azkaban. But that would pass. </p><p>“First you get better.”, Harry said, pushing a dozen potions across the table. “You can’t help me if you are in a worse shape than a seventy-year-old and I’m afraid I’m going to need a lot of your help. I can’t very well go out and do everything that needs to be done while looking fourteen and being Harry Potter.” </p><p>Sirius nodded as he took the bottles, his face a picture of gratitude. He knew he looked bad, felt even worse, so if there was anything that could help him, he would do it. </p><p>“As for the other plans, we will need to be extremely careful. Dumbledore cannot find out that we are both in the know, he can’t even suspect it or we are screwed. I may be the-boy-who-lived but he is the beacon of light, one with a vast network of spies and contacts.” </p><p>“And what about Snape?”, Sirius asked, and to see actual worry on his Godfather’s face, a worry about Severus Snape, took Harry by surprise. He knew that by the end of the last war they were friends, or at least acquaintances that tolerated each other for the sake of Lily, but he had been so used to the two of them hating each other that he was finding it a bit hard to believe that it hadn’t been real. </p><p>He could still remember the look on Snape’s face when he thought Sirius would get the kiss before Harry had saved him, and he didn’t think he had ever seen that man happier. To think that it had all been a lie; man, Dumbledore was good. </p><p>“He doesn’t know anything yet. He’s under the same enchantments you were, and I doubt he would be as easy to catch off guard as you had been.” </p><p>“Hey!”, Sirius exclaimed, throwing a paper towel at Harry as he did so. </p><p>Harry laughed, ducking down, feeling happier than he could remember. Sure, he had been happy in his previous life. He had friends, a job he liked most of the time, and a good home; but as he looked at Sirius laughing, alive and there, he couldn’t find it in himself to regret anything.  </p><p> </p><p>“And what about The Dark Lord?”, Sirius asked once they stopped goofing around. </p><p>Harry frowned as he took a bite of his dinner that Kreacher had prepared. </p><p>“I don’t know. I need more information. The only thing I know about him is what Dumbledore and his supporters had told me once I came to Hogwarts. And of course, the fact he tried to kill me a few times.” </p><p>“He is, well, he was an extremely smart man, a true politician if I ever saw one. He could charm his way through anything and yet, scare the shit out of you when he wished. Extremely powerful and quite good looking. He had been climbing his way through the Ministry at a rapid pace and was responsible for a number of laws passed that would have enabled Witches and Wizards to practice dark magic and preform the old rituals again, seeing as Dumbledore had all but abolished them under the pretense that they were evil.” </p><p>“Aren’t they?”, Harry asked, seeing the look that crossed Sirius’s face as he said the word ‘evil’. </p><p>“Not necessarily. There is not really such a thing as good or evil magic, there is only intent. If you really want to kill or torture someone you don’t even need magic, as muggles had proved in the past. And what are considered light spells can still kill if used in the correct way.” </p><p>Harry nodded, feeling fascinated by Sirius's words. He had never really thought about it that way, as, he suspected, a lot of other people hadn’t either. </p><p>“It’s like yin and yang; there are two parts of everything. Night and day, life and death, light and darkness. The same thing with magic; there can’t be one without the other and that’s what Voldemort had been trying to make the Ministry understand. Why do you think he had so many followers? And not just witches and wizards, but creatures as well. Werewolves, Vampires, Veelas, and Giants; they were all classified as dark creatures, or half-dark in Veela’s case, made to register like livestock, shunned and exiled for something they couldn’t change.  </p><p>He promised them freedom, a new and better world, and he was on his way to completing that promise before that night happened. He was directly responsible for a number of laws getting passed that would enable them to get decent jobs and homes, and all that despite Dumbledore’s attempts to smear his reputation in the eyes of the public.” </p><p>“But what about the muggleborns?”, Harry asked. He actually found himself starting to like this man Sirius was describing and he just couldn’t reconcile it with the monster he knew. </p><p>“Well, he didn’t particularly like them, but not for the reasons you think. He thought there should be more done in order to integrate them into the Wizarding society, maybe even take them all together and raise them in the Wizarding world if they were found to be abused because of their magic as so many were, especially back then. He even tried to convince your mother to come and work for him, but she had refused since she didn’t care for politics. So that should tell you all you need to know about his opinion on muggleborns.” </p><p>“What happened after that night, I don’t know, because the man you described was definitely not the man I knew. Nor were his followers. Malfoy, Cissy’s husband was never particularly polite or decent but he was neither a murderous bigot. Sure, purebloods don’t like to mix with muggles and tend to avoid it but more out of fear of being discovered by the general population than anything else. Our community is small and our memory runs deep, and the last time muggles found out about us we didn’t have a particularly good time, did we?” </p><p>Harry nodded, thinking about everything Sirius had said. He felt like it was his first day in the Wizarding world, finding out about this world he never knew existed. As for Voldemort, he already knew why the man had made such a drastic change in his personality, but his followers were a mystery. </p><p>Could it be that there were more people under the same enchantments as Sirius and Snape? It seemed impossible, even for Dumbledore. But maybe some were, the key players, the most prominent figures like Malfoy, while the rest were too afraid to say anything once Voldemort had come back in his previous life and just followed orders. </p><p>Maybe, Harry thought, after all, once it seemed impossible that Dumbledore could be anything but genuine and look what happened there. </p><p>
  <em>Maybe... </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The egg hunt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next.”</em><br/>― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords</p><p> </p><p>Harry woke up with a start, sitting up in his bed only to see Snuffles sitting beside him, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he all but vibrated in place, his mouth spread wide over his teeth in a semblance of a smile. </p><p>“You’ve got to stop doing that, or one of his days I’ll hex you and it won’t be a tickling hex.”, Harry groaned, though Sirius just ignored him as he always did, jumping from the bed and pacing in front of the doors. </p><p>“You are a human, you know that right?”, Harry said to which Sirius just snorted before running out of the room, Harry following at a slower pace behind him. He was still half-asleep since he didn’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning. It sometimes seemed as if that was the only thing he had been doing since coming back to the past. Research, so much research that he was slowly but surely turning into Hermione. </p><p>But, as of last night, it seemed like it would be paying off. He had finally discovered a ritual in one of the books that were hidden in the darkest bowels of the Black library. A ritual that would, if Harry was successful, restore the Horcruxes back into one soul, well, all but the one inside of him; that one wasn’t going anywhere without Avada Kedavra. And Harry really wasn’t up for another one of those, so that part of Tom’s soul would just have to remain where it was, at least for now. </p><p>In the end, he had decided to try and restore Voldemort back to sanity; if he succeeded then great, maybe they could reach some sort of agreement once the man stopped trying to murder him every chance he got, if not, then he would only have one Horcrux to destroy and then there would be just Voldemort to deal with. </p><p>Harry stumbled into a kitchen, stopping in his tracks as he saw the biggest birthday cake in the shape of a lightning bolt he ever saw in his life on the table. </p><p>Happy birthday Harry! Was written on it with both candles in the shape of fourteen and twenty-six lit on it, making him snort at the sight. </p><p>“Do you like it? Kreacher wanted to make a traditional cake with a couple of tiers but I said naaah.”, Sirius said as he transformed back into his human form, a big smile spread over his lips as he stared at Harry. </p><p>Harry simply nodded; a bit embarrassed at the moisture collecting at the corners of his eyes. Even after all these years and so many birthday cakes he still found himself surprised whenever people in his life remembered his birthday. Something, he doubted would ever change. </p><p>“You made a cake with Kreacher?”, Harry asked as he stepped closer, shaking his head at the monstrosity that was the cake; it was wonderful. </p><p>“Shut up.”, Sirius mumbled before joining him at the table. Harry blew the candles, both sets, before they dug in, finishing almost half the cake before they had to stop in fear of bursting at seams. </p><p>“I’ve been meaning to ask you, what about Dursleys? Aren’t they wondering where you are all the time?”, Sirius asked as they lay over the two sofas in the living room, groaning from time to time from all the food they had inhaled. </p><p>“I paid them to keep their noses out of my business. Actually, feeling quite stupid for not coming up with that before now. Life could have been so much easier.” </p><p>“Oh. Brilliant.” </p><p>They napped for a while, before Sirius jumped to his feet, smiling widely at Harry. </p><p>“What should we do now? It’s your birthday so we’ll do anything you want.” </p><p>Harry set up, staring at Sirius as he thought about his question. Well, there was no time like the present, he thought. </p><p>“What do you think about an egg hunt?” </p><p>The look of utter befuddlement on Sirius’s face made him snort in laughter. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>“You know, when I said we could do whatever you want, I meant something like go out, or get sloshed, travel maybe, not go hunting for Voldemort’s soul pieces.”, Sirius whispered harshly, making Harry snort in laughter before he quickly composed himself. They needed to remain quiet and alert if they planned on not getting caught. </p><p>They were in Little Hangleton, the birthplace of one Tom Marvolo Riddle, and were currently near the Gaunt shack, observing the old house. </p><p>It seemed deserted, but Harry wanted to make sure since Voldemort was close at the moment as he was staying in the Riddle Manor. He wasn’t really a threat, not in the state that he was in right now, but if Harry had learned anything in his past life, it was to never underestimate him. </p><p>“I think we can go. There is no one there, and this might be our only opportunity before I leave for Hogwarts.” </p><p>Sirius nodded, although he looked slightly pale, probably thinking about the curse that was guarding the Gaunt ring. Harry had told him about what had happened to Dumbledore and even though he hated the man, Sirius still considered that a very harsh way to go. </p><p>They entered the shack, invisible under Harry’s cloak, casting every detection spell under the sun before making their way to the place of the floor Harry knew the Horcrux was hidden beneath. </p><p>Harry pulled the cloak from himself and stepped forward, crouching down and slowly detaching the floorboard.  </p><p>“There you are.”, he whispered as his eyes fell on the small wooden box hidden beneath. He used a spell to unlock it, and then he saw it; the ring. He felt the pull almost immediately, it was incredibly strong and he wasn’t surprised Dumbledore had fallen for it especially since he didn’t know about it like Harry now did.  </p><p>He cast the counter curse, watching as the box glowed red for a moment before the curse was lifted. He took the ring then, slipping it into his pocket and turning back to see Sirius staring at him in question.  </p><p>“Well? That’s it?”, he asked, his face a picture of utter disappointment that nothing exciting had happened but his voice betrayed his nerves; it was shaky. </p><p>“Yup. Now let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.” </p><p>They went out, following the little trail that led to the main road, when Harry suddenly stopped and turned to the right slightly, his eyes falling on the big manor visible in the distance. </p><p>A strange feeling, something he never felt before tugged in his chest, not really pushing, almost like a voice in his head that urged him to go to the manor, to him. Harry shook his head, still looking at the manor before he turned his back on it and followed Sirius.  </p><p>Voldemort was in the house, he knew, and for some reason, he felt disappointed to be so close to him again, after so many years and yet unable to face him. It was him, just him, he knew what it felt like being under the influence of a Horcrux and this wasn’t it. </p><p>Was it possible that Harry had missed him? Actually, missed the Dark Lord? </p><p>It was ludicrous, and yet as he put more and more distance between them, the feeling grew just a bit. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>“Here.”, Sirius said as he pushed Helga’s cup into Harry’s hands, the tension in his shoulders dissipating as soon as the cup left his possession. </p><p>“That leaves us with the Ravenclaw diadem and Nagini. Getting the diadem will be easy since I can get it as soon as I arrive at Hogwarts, but Nagini will be a problem. We will just have to figure something out before Halloween.”, Harry said as he walked toward his trunk where the box safeguarding the Horcruxes was hidden. He dropped the cup inside before whispering a password in Parseltongue that would prevent anyone except himself and Voldemort from opening it. </p><p>“So, we are definitely doing this on Halloween? Wouldn’t it be better to do it before you return to Hogwarts?” </p><p>“No, Hallow’s eve is the best time for a ritual of this type.” </p><p>“But that means...” </p><p>“Yes, my name will be put into the Goblet just like before and I’ll have to compete.”, Harry said, making a face at the thought of the Triwizard tournament. Going through that hell once had been enough; he couldn’t understand why anyone would volunteer to compete and yet, here he was, about to go and compete for the second time in just over a decade. </p><p>“You’ll be careful, right?”, Sirius asked, looking worried at the thought of Harry in a tournament like that one.  </p><p>Harry smiled and nodded, touched by Sirius’s concern even though there really was no need for it. He had already done it, won it actually and when he was just fourteen, doing it again will be a piece of cake, especially now that he knew everything that would happen. </p><p> </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>Before Harry realized, it was already the second part of August which meant that the invitation to the World cup from the Weasleys would be coming. Harry thought about rejecting it, stating that his guardians wouldn’t let him go seeing as he had already gone to the World cup and he would rather spend his remaining holiday time with Sirius where he could act like the adult he was, instead of a brooding teenager he was supposed to be. </p><p>But he also really missed Hermione and Ron, even if they weren’t the people he left behind in the future. So, he packed his trunk and went back to the Dursley’s home, watched in shameless mirth their fireplace exploding for the second time in Harry’s lifetime, and laughed hard at the sight of Dudley’s tongue growing too big for his mouth. He might have actually started to get along with Dudley after the war ended, but Dudley at this time was still a big prick. </p><p>The events of the World cup played out exactly like they did the first time; Harry and the crew met Ludo Bagman, Ireland won and the Death Eaters showed up and started the riot. The death mark was cast by Barty Crouch and Winky was blamed for it and fired by Crouch Sr. </p><p>But this time, knowing about what Crouch Sr. had done to his son and just how this would affect Winy, Harry slipped Winky a note to listen for his voice and when he called her name to come. </p><p>That night, back at the Burrow, once everyone finally calmed down and went to sleep, Harry slipped out of the room he shared with Ron and sneaked out of the house. He walked a bit further into the backyard, making sure that no one could overhear him, before calling for Winky. </p><p>The poor elf appeared almost instantly, and Harry could see that she had done nothing but cry since being fired. </p><p>“Harry Potter has called for Winky?”, she said, staring at him with wide, googly eyes. </p><p>“Yes. I was wondering if you would like a new master?” </p><p>As soon as the words left his mouth Winky’s eyes widened impossibly, filling with tears as she started to nod almost frantically. </p><p>“That’s great Winky since I am in need of an elf. So, would you like me to be your new master?” </p><p>Another nod followed by more crying and Harry actually had to cast a mufliato or she would have woken the whole house. </p><p>It took a bit of time and a lot of coaxing for Winky to finally calm down enough for Harry to be able to perform the binding ritual, but he did it, and once he sent the now ecstatic elf to Grimmauld place he slipped back into his room, feeling satisfied as he fell into his bed. Everything was progressing smoothly and he now had another ally on his side. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Snape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“A dream you once were, </em><br/><em>A dream of all my realities, </em><br/><em>A dream I can no longer strive for </em><br/><em>In the wake of my many betrayals.” </em><br/>― C. Elizabeth, Absolute Obsession </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt strange to be back in Hogwarts after so many years. Following the end of the war, Harry, along with many others, had come back to Hogwarts to help with the rebuild. Hundreds of witches and wizards offering their wands and time and they managed to fix the ancient castle in time for the next school year. </p>
<p>Harry and the rest of his year were offered a chance to repeat their 7th year, or in Harry’s case finish it in the first place, but Harry had refused. He had barely managed to endure the two months it took to rebuild without crumbling in a heap and just staying there.  </p>
<p>There were too many memories, too many wounds inflicted, too many ghosts haunting the castle halls, and Harry wished to be as far away from them as possible if he intended to survive. </p>
<p>So, he refused and took his NEWTs in the newly rebuild Ministry at the start of the New Year, before going into Auror training. Ron did the same, while Hermione went back, to the surprise of no one, before applying for a job in the Department for control of magical creatures like she always wanted to. </p>
<p>So, now, that he was back, Harry felt weird because for some reason it wasn’t hard for him like he had expected it to be. </p>
<p>Maybe it was because the castle was just like he had remembered it from before the Battle, untouched by horrors of war and death, and with a little bit of luck never to be touched by them at all. </p>
<p>Of course, seeing the people they had lost, walking through the corridors, alive, smiling and so very young helped too. </p>
<p>Fred sitting beside his brother during the Welcoming Feast like it was always meant to be, the two of them teasing Ron and finishing each other’s sentences. Cedric alive and flirting with a blushing Cho. Colin excited as ever, proudly introducing everyone to his younger brother Denis who had just been sorted into Gryffindor. </p>
<p>Harry sighed, content to just sit there and watch them all, feeling beyond grateful for the millionth time since he came back for the opportunity to do just that. </p>
<p>Dumbledore stood up after a few moments, but Harry paid him no mind, already knowing what the man was going to announce; The Triwizard Tournament and Moody. </p>
<p>So, he tunned him out, unwilling to listen to even one word more than necessary from the mouth of that man, seeing as he was already barely containing himself from standing up and just cursing the old goat out of existence. </p>
<p>His eyes wandered over the Great Hall, stopping for a second on Draco Malfoy whispering something to Crabbe and Goyle, the sight making him smile for a second.  </p>
<p>Draco and he had become quite good friends after the end of the War to the surprise of pretty much everyone. Draco had surprised them all when he applied for the Auror training, wishing to leave the past behind and be better, and after finishing became Harry’s partner to Ron’s great regret.  </p>
<p>Harry felt uneasy about it in the beginning but after spending some time in the blonde’s company he realized that he wasn’t actually so bad when he stopped sneering and spouting insults at everyone. </p>
<p>He was still a dick, especially if Ron was present, but Harry kind of preferred him that way.  </p>
<p>He looked away from him, feeling a bit bereft at the realization that their friendship might never happen in this new timeline, but unable to do anything about it. </p>
<p>His eyes moved toward the teacher’s table before he froze in place as his eyes fell on the man, he hadn’t seen in almost a decade; Severus Snape. </p>
<p>He was looking down at the crowd of students, his usual cold mask on his face and a sneer on his lips as Dumbledore announced the tournament, his thoughts on it quite obvious. </p>
<p>Harry swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at him, his hands starting to shake. It was like he hadn’t fully realized who Snape was to him until he saw him in person. </p>
<p>He had a father, he thought, a long-time wish coming true, and he almost jumped from the bench and ran to him, needing to touch him and make sure that he was really there. </p>
<p>But he couldn’t. The man was unaware of the truth, locked inside his own mind, hating him for being the son of the man he hated and the woman he loved since he was a boy. </p>
<p>Snape’s head suddenly snapped in his direction, his eyes zooming on Harry as if he felt his eyes on him. It was impressive, Harry thought as he quickly looked away, no wonder he was such an amazing spy. </p>
<p>That night, after being sent to bed, he sat on his bed and spelled the curtains shut, and then threw a quick mufliato before calling for Winky. </p>
<p>“Master Harry, sir, how can Winky be of service?”, the small elf squeaked as soon as she appeared. </p>
<p>“I need you to go down to the dungeons and watch over Severus Snape. He mustn’t see you under any circumstances, and you need to keep him safe and observe his routine. If anything happens, anything at all, you need to inform me immediately, otherwise, I expect a report on his routine in a week.” </p>
<p>Winky nodded before snapping her fingers and vanishing. Harry sighed, crossing one thing off his mental to-do list. He knew he had to remove the enchantments from Snape’s mind, but as he had already said to Sirius, the man was wickedly smart and very in tune with his surroundings, so Harry would have to catch him unawares if he planned on not getting killed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>• </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you are sure that he has passed out?”, Harry asked, as he checked his bag to make sure he had everything he would need. </p>
<p>“Yes, Master Harry, sir. Winky did as you say. I spelled the tea after Professor Snape checked it for spells and potions. He is sleeping now.” </p>
<p>Harry nodded, as he slipped his wand into his wand holster, feeling nervous about what he was about to do. </p>
<p>It was already the middle of October, the Hallow’s Eve was fast approaching and he needed Snape on his side if he was going to perform the ritual when he intended. He was good in potions but not as good as he needed to be to prepare the potion Voldemort will have to consume in order for his soul to go back to where it belonged.  </p>
<p>He had been procrastinating, he knew that, avoiding the issue of Snape for as long as he could, afraid of what would happen after he lifted the enchantments. Afraid that it won’t work, but even more that it would and that it still wouldn’t change anything, that Snape would still hate him. </p>
<p>But there was no time for fear anymore since the potion took four days to prepare and the clock was ticking, and even for a Master like Snape, it would take a lot to prepare it perfectly, so Harry needed to leave him some room for errors. </p>
<p>“Take me to his quarters.”, Harry said, taking the aging potion and then offering his hand to Winky as he took a steadying breath before he was whisked away. </p>
<p>They appeared a moment later in Snape’s rooms and Harry saw that Winky was right. The man was completely out of it, hanging from his armchair, the cup of tea lying on the floor next to his legs. </p>
<p>Harry quickly summoned his wand and shot a spell to bind him to the chair, before stepping closer to manually search him. He smirked as his hands found another wand hidden in a holster spelled to prevent the wand from being summoned strapped to his left leg. The man was terribly smart, but so was Harry. </p>
<p>He moved away, walking in a circle around the room and raising wards that would prevent wandless magic from being performed, knowing that Snape was well versed in it just as Harry was. </p>
<p>Once he was done, he levitated a chair and set it across from Snape, and then spelled the man awake. </p>
<p>Snape remained as he was, not giving any indication that he was conscious but Harry knew that he was. It was a good trick; one Harry had used in a number of tricky situations he had found himself in over the course of his career. Finding out everything you could about your surroundings while relying on your other senses, before making your captor aware that you were awake. </p>
<p>“I know that you are awake, Professor Snape.”, Harry said and smirked as Snape’s eyes snapped open and zeroed in on him.  </p>
<p>He remained perfectly calm, his face a perfect mask as he observed Harry. </p>
<p>“Potter?”, he murmured, frowning as he watched him, confusion passing over his face for just a second before quickly disappearing. </p>
<p>“Ten points to Slytherin.”, Harry exclaimed, a small smile appearing in the corner of his mouth at Snape’s indignant face. </p>
<p>“What is the meaning of this? Release me this instant!” </p>
<p>“I’m sorry Professor, but I can’t do that just yet.”, he said before raising his wand. Snape’s eyes widened at the sight and he started to struggle against the magical bindings. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry dad.”, Harry whispered, making him freeze in spot, his dark eyes staring at Harry in confused surprise before Harry whispered the spell and he screamed. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Father and Son</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.” </em><br/>― George R.R. Martin </p><p> </p><p>As soon as Snape stopped screaming and trashing, he froze, his eyes looking at the ceiling blankly as deadly silence descended upon the room. Then, suddenly, everything in the room started to shake; first the teapot on the coffee table that Snape had ordered before Winky had charmed him to sleep, then the glass liquor bottles on the bar in the corner of the room, before all furniture started to vibrate along with the chairs the both of them were sitting on. </p><p>Harry jumped to his feet and took a step back, feeling scared as he looked around the room with wide eyes. He gulped, realizing what was going to happen, and barely had enough time to raise the strongest shield he could before everything exploded. </p><p>Shards of glass and wood flew around, as Snape unleashed his wild magic, the lights going off, and furniture that was still whole flying across the room only to slam against the walls and break. </p><p>Harry, who was crouching down in a corner beneath his shield, heard an unhuman growl and looked up to see that Snape was no longer bound to the chair, Harry’s magic failing as he had to concentrate all his power on protecting himself. The man was standing in the middle of the room, the armchair he had been occupying in actual smithereens beneath his feet.  </p><p>His whole body was shaking, his dark eyes glowing as he growled over and over again, the sound inhuman in its despair. </p><p>As seconds ticked by with no sign of Snape calming down, Harry started to worry that the man was going to bring the whole castle to the ground, but then Snape’s eyes fell on his covering figure and everything stopped. </p><p>“Har... Harry...”, Snape whispered as he stepped closer, before he stopped, falling to his knees a few feet away from Harry, one hand pressing against his mouth. He stared at him as if he was seeing him for the first time, his eyes wide and full of emotions Harry had thought he would never see in Severus’s eyes. </p><p>“It worked, right? You remember?”, Harry asked as he carefully sat up and canceled the shield, feeling unsure as to how to proceed. This was Snape, the man who had hated him for most of Harry’s life, and he didn’t know how to talk to him now that everything has changed. </p><p>“Yes.”, Snape said, shaking his head as if to clear it and looking away.  </p><p>“I need a drink.”, he said before standing up and freezing in place as he saw the destruction around himself.  </p><p>“Reparo.”, he said and in less than a minute the room was once again clean and whole as if nothing had happened. He then made his way toward the same armchair Harry had found him in and took a seat, his face once again a cold mask, though his eyes gave him away. He was clearly in distress. Harry figured that it was to be expected; spending so much time without the ability to control yourself was horrible for anyone, and for someone like Severus, who was a control freak it must have been the worst of hell. </p><p>Harry stood up and joined him, still a bit cautious, observing the man for any signs of another outburst, but Snape seemed to be back in control, though he wasn’t kidding when he said he needed a drink, Harry thought as he watched the man gulp down a third of the bottle, he had summoned, in one go. </p><p>“How are you so older?”, Snape asked once he set the bottle on the table, his arms on his legs as he looked at Harry. </p><p>“Aging potion. I really am 26 or I used to be, but then I found mom’s journal and found out the truth about Dumbledore and Voldemort and... and you. So, I used a spell Lily had found and written in the diary, one she had intended to use if anything went wrong that night but she didn’t have enough time. It was supposed to allow me to travel back in time as an astral projection just long enough to warn you all about Dumbledore but I must have said it wrong or something since I woke up in my younger body three months ago stuck in the past.” </p><p>Snape stared at him for a long time not saying a word, before the most amazing thing happened; he started laughing. He laughed and laughed, wheezing as he did so, clutching his stomach and bending in half while Harry stared at him in astonishment. </p><p>
  <em>Well, I broke him. Good job, Harry. </em>
</p><p>“Fuck. I apologize, I just...”, Snape said, before stopping as more chuckles escaped his mouth. </p><p>“You cast a spell that you found in Lily’s diary without even knowing if it would work? Salazar, you really are a Gryffindor.” </p><p>Snape smiled at him after that, the first real smile Harry had ever seen on his face, before it disappeared, his face sobering up as he continued to watch him. </p><p>“Harry, I... I am so sorry. Merlin, how I treated you, I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, I just wanted you to know that.”, he said as he looked away, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that the skin turned white at the knuckles. </p><p>“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. This is all Dumbledore’s fault. He... I think he killed mom.”, Harry whispered, making Severus freeze. </p><p>“What?”, the man said, his voice quiet and so terribly cold, making Harry shiver as he watched him. He worried that this new piece of news would result in another mayhem as he saw the rage that flashed through Severus’s eyes. </p><p>Harry was quick to explain, telling the whole story for the second time since he came back to the past, and then he did indeed have to erect another shield as the whole room exploded once again. </p><p>  </p><p>• </p><p> </p><p>“Harry, could you please tell your Godfather to get off the table, his doggy breath is atrocious.”, Severus purred, never taking his eyes off the potion as he added another ingredient making Sirius who was indeed sitting in front of him on the table in his Animagus form growl lowly. </p><p>Harry snorted, feeling as if he had walked into an alternate reality as he shooed his Godfather down and then returned to slicing the next batch of ingredients Snape would need in half an hour. </p><p>A week had passed since that day in Severus’s rooms, and once the man had calmed down and fixed his living room for the second time the two of them had flooed to Grimmauld place so Snape could see Sirius. </p><p>Their first meeting after getting their memories back was intense and very emotional, they had even hugged, something Harry still couldn’t believe he had witnessed and often thought he had imagined it especially when they bickered like they were doing now. </p><p>But it shouldn’t have surprised him, he thought later, once he was back in his bed in the Gryffindor dormitories, since only the two of them could truly understand the other since they had both gone through it. They had lost the people they loved most in the world that night and then they were forced to forget. </p><p>It was beyond cruel seeing as not even Voldemort of his time had done something like that; he had tortured and then killed, which, in Harry’s opinion was better than what happened to Snape and Sirius. </p><p>“How much longer?”, Sirius asked, having shifted back to his human form. He was currently lounging on the small sofa in the corner of Snape’s private lab, one he had personally dragged in there since he refused to sit on the sturdy, wooden chairs that were already there.  </p><p>Severus ignored him completely, stirring the potion counter-clockwise and counting quietly.  </p><p>“If everything goes as it should, then we will add these ingredients in half an hour and that’s it. We will leave the potion to simmer for the next twelve hours and then bottle it.” </p><p>“Thank fuck! I really hate brewing.”, Sirius moaned loudly, making Snape glare at him as he counted. </p><p>“As you have informed us numerous times, Black.” </p><p>Sirius grinned, winking at Severus and then jumping from his sofa and making his way out of the room before Severus decided to hex him, again. </p><p>“Thirty.”, Severus said, putting the ladle away and extending his hand for Harry to give him the next ingredient. They worked in silence for a while, before Severus cleared his throat. </p><p>“Are you sure about this?” </p><p>Harry nodded as he finished chopping the rat's liver and moved it closer to the man so he could reach it when the time was right. </p><p>“I don’t know why, but I just have to try. I know that it might not work and Voldemort could remain insane forever even with his soul back, but something in my gut is telling me that it will. I just know that it will.” </p><p>Snape nodded slowly, a small frown between his brows as he did so, but he remained silent. </p><p>They finished the potion half an hour later, just as Harry had predicted, and then Harry had to leave and return to his dorm since it was close to curfew and his friends would worry if he were late. They thought that he was serving detentions with Snape every evening for the last week, but not even the dungeon bat would keep him past curfew no matter how much he hated him, or so they thought. </p><p>As he laid in his bed that night, Harry thought about how in two days' time he would be going to Little Hangleton with Severus and Sirius by his side and the thought made him nervous. </p><p>The faith of the Wizarding World would be decided that night, and, just before he fell asleep, he couldn’t help but think that his own future was also about to change in the ways he never could have foreseen. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Ritual</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Some stories have to be written because no one would believe the absurdity of it all.” </em><br/>― Shannon L. Alder </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Harry sighed in relief once he was allowed to return to his common room, his stomach aching from holding in the laughter as he watched the Headmasters of the three schools argue over whether or not he had put his name in the Goblet of fire. </p>
<p>The first time around Harry had been petrified of being volunteered for something like the Triwizard tournament, absolutely sure that he was going to die, but now, when he was older and hopefully wiser the whole situation seemed funny to him. </p>
<p>There they were, supposed brightest minds in the Wizarding World, duped like children by Barty Crouch Jr. If Harry could have done it without revealing his cards too soon, he would have stepped up to the man and congratulated him on a wonderful job. </p>
<p>It was a brilliant idea, Harry thought as he walked back to his dormitory, entering Harry under the pretense of a fourth school, but considering that Barty had been a Ravenclaw it shouldn’t have been a surprise. </p>
<p>Still, it was an impressive bit of magic, especially once you realized that the man had been under the Imperius curse for over a decade which must have been traumatizing.  </p>
<p>Harry shook his head, a small smile playing around the corner of his mouth before he wiped it out just as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, allowing him entrance into the Gryffindor common room. </p>
<p>Just like before, a party in celebration of Harry being chosen as a champion was in full swing, but Harry bypassed it and went straight to his dorm, uncaring of the voices of his school mates calling for him to come back. </p>
<p>He didn’t have any intention of spending time with them especially since he knew that they would all turn their backs on him soon enough.  </p>
<p>He entered his room, making a beeline toward his trunk where his cloak was hidden. He took it out and pulled it over himself, before spelling his bed curtains shut, making it seem like he had gone to bed in case someone came snooping.  </p>
<p>He then turned around and made his way out of the dormitory and the common room with none the wiser.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>• </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I got it!” Sirius exclaimed turning to show them the big magical cage that was now keeping a snake as a prisoner. </p>
<p>Harry glared at him, rolling his eyes at the man.  </p>
<p>“Hush! Are you trying to get us killed?” he hissed, making Sirius grin sheepishly in answer. </p>
<p>“Told you we should have left him at home.” Snape quipped from beside Harry as the three of them crept through the courtyard of Riddle Manor. </p>
<p>“We need three people for this ritual and I seriously doubt Pettigrew is going to want to help us.” Harry said, smirking in satisfaction when his father grimaced at just the thought of having to ask the sleazy rat for anything. </p>
<p>“Touche.” </p>
<p>They stopped in front of the entrance, Harry casting detection charms while the other two stood guard in case the rat in question showed up.  </p>
<p>His detection spell revealed that there were wards on the manor, but not very strong, telling him that they must have been cast by Peter instead of Voldemort who was probably too weak at this point for such a thing. </p>
<p>So, it took him barely a few minutes to dismantle them and once he did, they stepped into the house. </p>
<p>“Upstairs.” Harry whispered and the other two nodded, following him as he climbed up the stairs to the first floor where he knew Voldemort was staying in one of the living rooms. </p>
<p>Once they were close, Harry cast a wandless ‘homenum revelio’ which told him that Peter was in the room with Voldemort. That was good, Harry thought, there will be no surprises there. </p>
<p>He raised his hand, giving the signal and in the next moment, the three of them burst into the room. Peter was immediately blasted against the wall, his wand cluttering to the ground and rolling away, courtesy of Snape.  </p>
<p>“Potter!” Voldemort exclaimed as he struggled to raise his wand, obviously too weak to even defend himself. </p>
<p>“Hey, Tom.” Harry said to him before a whispered ‘stupefy’ hit him in the chest and Tom’s head fell back into the pillow when the man lost consciousness. </p>
<p>“Huh.” Sirius said as he stared at the sleeping figures, a look of disappointment etched into every line of his face. </p>
<p>“That was anticlimactic.” </p>
<p>Snape rolled his eyes as Harry snorted before he shook his head and walked over to the table standing in the corner, putting his bag and cloak on it.  </p>
<p>He shot a binding spell at Peter and then the same one on Voldemort, before he levitated him to the same table, his small, not quite human body barely taking up a third of the wooden surface. </p>
<p>Harry shook his head sadly at the sad picture the wizard made. To think that this had once been the most feared wizard of his time. So much potential wasted, he thought as he remembered the beautiful, smart man he had seen in the pensive memories.  </p>
<p>Though, unlike before, Harry now realized that it hadn’t been Voldemort's fault, ending up like this. It was all the result of Dumbledore’s schemes. Tom had, just like Harry suffered a great deal because of that man. </p>
<p>But no more. Harry would not let him ruin more lives, no matter what he had to do. </p>
<p>“Harry?” Snape said, snatching him out of his thoughts as his eyes shot up to see his father looking at him strangely. </p>
<p>He realized the reason a second later as he noticed that he was clutching Voldemort’s hand tightly in his, the pale skin too cold against his. He snatched his hand back as if burnt, embarrassed to feel his cheeks flushing red. He felt confused by his action, but decided to just push it aside; he had work to do. </p>
<p>He took the black candles out of the bag, setting one of them above Tom’s head, the other bellow his feet, and the last two on each side. Then Sirius stepped forward and started to draw runes in a circle around the body, since of the three of them he was the best one, having gotten an O in his Ancient Runes Newts. </p>
<p>Once Sirius was done, Harry took the Horcruxes out of the box and put them around Voldemort, Nagini being the last one. She immediately curled around her master, hissing menacingly, angered once she realized that she could not escape outside of the rune circle. </p>
<p>They took their positions around the table, wands at the ready as Harry shot the spell. </p>
<p>“Enervate.”, he whispered, the spell hitting Tom and waking him up immediately. </p>
<p>The man’s eyes shot open, widening as soon as he realized that he was unable to move. </p>
<p>“Potter! I’ll kill you; I swear!”, the man screamed, his red eyes gleaming in the candlelight as he glared at Harry.  </p>
<p>Harry though, paid him no mind as he started to chant in Latin, getting lost in the incantations. The runes shone red as Harry continued, joined by Sirius and Severus until Voldemort's screams almost drowned their voices. Still, they persisted, their voices climbing to shouts, as Snape stepped forward and forcefully made Tom drink the two potions they had prepared, one to help with the Horcruxes, and the other mixed with Harry’s blood to give him back a body. It was just in time seeing as the moment Voldemort drank them, the Horcruxes started to tremble, clouds of black smoke rising out of them and mixing together. </p>
<p>The smoky figure started to struggle, banging against the rune barrier, screams echoing around the room when it couldn't escape before it finally relented and shot into Voldemort’s body. </p>
<p>Harry’s voice slowly died down; his eyes wide as he watched Tom. As soon as the soul shards entered him, his body had started to change, his skin bubbling up and changing, bones extending, hair growing, not unlike what Polyjuice potion did until it all stopped; and in front of them lay a tall, dark-haired man. </p>
<p>
  <em>Tom. </em>
</p>
<p>Harry sighed in relief at the sight, happy that his idea had worked. Giving his blood willingly was what made it possible for Tom to get his real body back, instead of that horrible snake-like thing he had been in Harry’s previous life. </p>
<p>The three of them startled as Tom’s eyes shot open, all of them freezing in the spot as they waited for what the man would do. </p>
<p>“You can untie me now.” came a soft purr, making Harry shiver, as red eyes connected with his. </p>
<p>“Harry...” Snappy said in warning, his eyes wide as Harry stepped closer to Tom. </p>
<p>“Relashio.”, Harry whispered, not even using his wand which caused one of Tom’s brows to hitch up slightly before it came back to its place. The man hummed as he sat up, his long legs falling to the ground, completely unbothered at the state of his undress. </p>
<p>He raised his hands over his head, stretching his back, making the muscles on his abdomen more pronounced as he did so. Harry's eyes followed the movement as if hypnotized, sweat breaking out at the back of his neck at the sight the man made.  </p>
<p>He was breathtaking, Harry caught himself thinking, flushing when he saw Tom smirking at him as if he knew what Harry was thinking. The man’s eyes never strayed from him even as he stood up. </p>
<p>Snape and Sirius moved back at the action, but Harry stayed put, watching as Tom moved closer until he was standing directly in front of him, so tall that Harry had to bend his head back to look at him. </p>
<p>Harry wanted to squirm, Tom’s presence making him nervous. Even after all these years, after battling this man for more times than he could count, Harry had never been this close to him. He felt faint, the man’s gaze so intense that he thought he could drown in red. </p>
<p>“A robe would be nice.” Tom said after a few seconds, his words followed by a flurry of movements before Snape stepped forward and offered him one. </p>
<p>“My Lord.” </p>
<p>“Thank you, Severus.” </p>
<p>He took it, finally moving away from Harry and making him sigh in relief. He put the robe on and walked toward one of the armchairs before taking a seat, one of his legs crossing over the other as he observed them. </p>
<p>“Now then. Shall we begin?” </p>
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